Feedback
From students
It is amazing to have training in aspects of medicine that are often overlooked. To be able to communicate effectively as a doctor is extremely important, and even more so for marginalised groups. This experience taught us that communication styles should be personalised, and autism can present very differently in everyone. Spending time with an individual living with autism helped break down stereotypes and challenged our assumptions. It reminded us that empathy, patience, and genuine curiosity are just as vital as clinical knowledge. We now feel more confident and better prepared to care for neurodivergent patients in the future, and I hope more medical students get the opportunity to learn from lived experiences like this.This experience has definitely been a highlight of medical school!"
“I really enjoyed getting to know my TFA family. They were very welcoming and open about their experiences, and it was great to get to know the child with autism through playing and drawing with her. All in all a great experience!”
“I really enjoyed meeting my family and meeting them in-person definitely made the experience better.”
“The family were lovely. We got to see how autism can present differently even in siblings and had great discussions.”
“(To be) given the independence to ask questions and organise what we wanted to discuss each visit and also understand what the families go through after the diagnosis as doctors often do not get to see this side of things.”
“The TfA team are amazing and the programme is crucial.”
From families
“The students’ kindness and insistence to meet the people and families behind the ‘patient’ shines so brightly. They are inquisitive and gently curious, whilst remaining kind and patient with the chaos a family like ours can often bring. The full investment to knowing everything both medically and personally about our family and it's dynamics is quite astounding. They have approached our family with complete openness and grace, and we will be forever grateful. I have no doubts at all that this programme will shape the way they see and treat future patients and their families.”
“I just wanted to give you a bit of feedback on your wonderful medical students. We had our first visit today and we were so impressed with how professional yet down to earth and lovely they both were. They were genuinely interested, asked excellent questions, really listened and also were very open with us as well about their personal experiences with special needs which I thought was wonderful. Their “bedside manner” is perfect and We’d love to have them as our doctors one day. Also they were telling us how supportive and inclusive the medical school is and I was so impressed with what I heard so just wanted to say a huge well done. As I parent of a special needs child I feel really happy to hear that so thank you and makes me so pleased we’re taking part in this trail blazing project.”
The students were utterly delightful and my boys loved meeting them. Both of my boys took time to warm up but then really played with them. No questions or concerns, just so thrilled this is part of their course.”
“The medical students were lovely thank you, very interested and considerate, we were very impressed. Our daughter is looking forward to their next visit!”
“The first visit with the girls was really good. They were both really lovely and I could tell they were really interested in us as a family and how Autism and our family work together. I'm looking forward to our next visit.”
“The visit went very well. I think the students were quite shocked by some of our experiences (although shocking for them, it was quite cathartic for me!). I felt they came very prepared, and they asked a lot of very good, very informed questions. I think they will be very good doctors!”